Emi - 8 .... good story and character development between Hisao & Emi ... but in my opinion both emi's mom and the anal sceneseemed forced and outta place in other wise perfect story arc

Hanako - 10 ... i simply cant find anything to complain about

Lilly - 7 .... ( don't hate me please ) ... but i found lillys path boring and uninspired ... its almost like a bad soap opera ... i just didn't connect with it on a personal level to the point were most other KS fans did ... all the other girls seemed like they could real ppl ... lilly seemed to pefect to be real

Shizune - 9 ... Shizune to me seems the most real ... the wide range of emotions are endering to me ... the bad ending ... the good ending ... her strong bond with misha ... simple put i want a girl like Shizune ... the only downsdie is what i think is a misha fan service

now some ppl will really hate me ...... Rin - 4 .... her story arc was not fun to play at ... it was confusing to follow and much as ppl cry over her i didnt connect with her at all .... maybe im not smart enough or whatever to get rin ... she is more annoying the loveable to me

i hope noone got offened but thats my honest opinion ... whats yours

oh ps ..... i never play kenji's path yet so ill rate it later

i changed Rin path from 1 to a 4 and Lilly's path from a 4 to a 7 because i based it off of my personal feelings towards those 2 characters themselves and not the story as a whole ... which was unfair of me

Last edited by rydiafan on Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

Emi's path - 10/10 - I simply can't fault this path. IMHO, it is how the perfect VN should be, and I was utterly, utterly blown away by it. I'll play it again in the future, and it'll be interesting to see whether I still hold it in such high regard.

Kenji - 8/10 - It's only really a couple of scenes, but those scenes are quite nicely done, showing very well how someone becomes embittered with their situation and circumstances.

Shizune - 6/10 - I was rage at Shizune's path when I frst read it, and still don't like it so much to a large degree. I don't believe it works well as a romance path, and think it would be far better without the romance, just about Shizune and Hisao as friends. However, the triangle between Shizune, Hisao and Misha at the end was done extremely well IMHO and drags this up from about a 3-4/10.
Also, why did he bring his sword to school???

Lilly - 9/10 - Lilly's path is also an example of a VN done right IMHO. The whole path has a lovely feel-good factor (bar the ending which comes perilously close to a bad ending), and I really enjoyed playing it through, even if the last 30 mins or so had me in tears.

I'm going to put both first impressions (because I played a month ago) and reflections (how I feel now) here.

EmiFirst Impression: 10/10
Upon Reflection: 8.5/10
I was immediately drawn to Emi when I first played the demo because she reminded me a lot of me when I was in high school. After playing the game, it got kind of eerie how much we were alike. I docked a few points in retrospect because of Hisao not jumping to conclusions about her dad, but it's probably something I would do too unless somebody explicitly said something. I mean I think he probably did know, but he didn't want to say anything before it was confirmed, and he gave Emi space... which was the right thing to do. I've learned from being on both ends that it's much better to wait until somebody is ready to confide in you, no matter how long it takes. Even so, he was written kind of like an idiot. I still really love this route even though it's in the middle of my ratings and the good end is my "canon" ending for KS. I think The Hivemind did a great job making the story seem real.

Hanako
First Impression: 4/10
Upon Reflection: 7.5/10
My opinion changed drastically after I meditated a lot on the sex scene, but I still think it could have been done better. Despite what the devs have said, there is language in the scene and in the confession later that makes the consent seem very dubious, which is why my first impression is so low, even though I know that wasn't their intent. I'm not going to get into a rant but even though I know that's not what happened, I think that it's still not an incorrect opinion to read what happened as rape. I don't think that way any more after examining Hanako's... intentions... but I still think what happened was fucked up and it's a pretty poor thing to base a relationship upon. That aside, I can see why it touches people and where they're coming from. It just struck close to home and the last scene was more uncomfortable for me to read than uplifting. However, it has some really great writing and characterized extreme social anxiety really well, so kudos to cpl_crud for that.

LillyFirst Impression: 8/10
Upon Reflection: 6/10
Basically what the OP said. Lilly was just so boring! I'm sorry but I don't see having a "healthy adolescent sex drive" or a taste for wine as flaws or something that would make a character less "perfect". Not to mention she and Hisao coddling the fuck out of Hanako. I played Lilly's route fourth (two routes after Hanako) and in retrospect... augh... Hisao... Lilly... stopppppp treating Hanako like a baby! The writing was superficially very good but I read somewhere that it reads like everything that happens in the scene is written to advance the plot, and not the other way around, and I have to agree with that. Some events, including Hisao running to catch Lilly, just felt kind of stilted to me compared to the other routes, which felt more realistic. Then again I think Lilly is the least realistic by far of all the girls. That being said, the story is by no means horrible. It's just not one that I think I'd want to read again, as pleasant as it was to read the first time.

Rin
First Impression: 9/10
Upon Reflection: 9/10
Although I didn't connect with her on an emotional level, I did on a mental level. Basically the opposite of how I connected with Hanako, come to think of it. I think her path is the best written of all of them (good job, Aura!). I found both the good and neutral endings extremely compelling and interesting. I'm not sure what else I can say because this path didn't really make me feel much, but I did appreciate it a ton from an intellectual standpoint as I was reading it.

Shizune
First Impression: 7/10
Upon Reflection: 9.5/10
Shizune is the best and her path is the path I want to play again first. That's all I have to say, although I'd recommend checking out the "Am I the only one who enjoyed Shizune's route?" thread to see the details of why I like it so much. Basically every long analysis in that thread I agree with. Tons of stuff in that path are not really able to be appreciated until you're done with it. Despite what others have said, I thought that it was about as organic-feeling as Emi's route, there were just a lot of time skips. Kudos to A22 for creating the best --and probably the second-most complex-- girl in the game.

Emi's route
1st Impression 10/10
Reflection 9/10
This was my first route of my first VN so I really enjoyed it I went with the 'safe' route and talked to the nurse and Emi's mother, and when Hisao tells Emi that he loves her for the first time, it really got to me. The manly tears came and I felt so happy when Emi finally opened up to Hisao. Went down because for some reason I didn't like the scenes after you chase after Emi. Not sure why, I think I prefered the love confession more.

Lilly's Route
1st Impression 10/10
Reflection 10/10
Well you can see from my signature that this is my favourite route. Yes it's cliched, yeah some people could've predicted what the ending was, but I really enjoyed playing through Lilly's route. I became absorbed in it, it really was a heart warming story, I had not-so-manly tears flowing when I got the good ending after getting the bad one TWICE (didn't know what I did wrong and rushed it the second time), I got so into it that I didn't even think to predict what would happen at the airport (I just thought he'd go with her to Scotland) and when the music box played, god damn was I overjoyed, I felt a real connection throughout the story. I'm going to play this route again from the very beginning, this will always have a special place in my heart

Hanako's Route
1st Impression 9/10
Reflection 9/10
Hanako, strangely, was who I wanted to go for first, but ended up being 3rd. Anyway, there were some very intense parts in the story, namely the panic attack in the class room. I found myself having more respect for Hanako, because initially I wanted to 'protect' her too, but when I got the good ending, I realised that she just wanted to be treated normally. This was reinforced by the Bad ending when I redid it again. A very sweet story, even though i'm biased towards Lilly's route seeing as I did Lilly's route before Hanako. Joint second with Emi

Rin's Route
1st Impression 8/10
Reflection 8/10
I too found it difficult to connect to Rin, it was only until I got the 'neutral' ending after the good one, that I understood Rin more. Though I did feel for her at times, especially when Hisao starts shouting at her and she doesn't retaliate. However despite not quite getting it at first, I still liked this route.

Shizune's Route
1st Impression 7/10
Reflection 7/10
I didn't really like Shizune as a person that much to be honest. I just didn't like her authoritarian personality, plus she kept picking fights with Lilly D: I know, bias. Also her father, jesus christ dude, wanna punch him so badly!! Those were the only bad points I think, because I understood Shizune's wanting to make everyone happy and when I chose to get the bad ending first, I felt so bad for her, she wanted to help her friends but ended up losing them. Though the good ending made up for it I guess, can't really remember much else from her route.....

Kenji's Route: EPIC. Also a bit shocking when Hisao dies, didn't realise he was falling initially, only when Kenji's looking down at you did I realise he was done for.
Must be careful when having Manly Picnics haha

Lilly:
First impression 8/10
Upon further review 9/10
My first go around, and honestly my favorite. Yes, its cliched, and yes, certain parts of it are a little on the slower side. But honestly, none of the other routes had the emotional impact upon me like the last 30 mins of this one. Total rollercoaster, from the cg's, to the music, to the feeling of desperation. Not to mention I enjoyed the interaction between Hisao and Lilly the most, I felt that they connected on a very sincere level. From their dinner date to the hospital scene, i was enthralled. I also felt that this route wrapped things up in a most satisfactory way.

Emi:
First Impression 7/10
Upon further review 8/10
Emi was my 2nd go around. And honestly its probably my second favorite overall. I thought it was pretty lighthearted, and had its moments. I thought Emi connected well with Hisao as well, but nothing in the route outright moved me. It was very enjoyable.

Shizune:
First Impression 6/10
Upon further review 6/10
Shizune was 3rd. I actually enjoyed the writing of the route, and all the jokes. Its just that I didn't really "feel" the love between Shizune and Hisao. And while that might be more realistic than the other girls considering the circumstances, its not necessarily moving in a VN. In the end I sort of liked Misha more as a character than Shizune, i found her more interesting, but that's just personal preference.

Hanako:
First impression 6/10
Upon further review 6/10
Hanako 4th. I...didn't really enjoy Hanako's route that much. It was cute, and had some sweet moments, but she sort of wore on me as a character. The route was touching overall, but I felt that parts of it were kind of forced, romance wise.

Rin:
First Impression 7/10
Upon further review 8/10
Rin was last! I liked Rin...but she was a bit much. I kind of preferred her in Act 1, back when things weren't so super serious and confusing. The writing was excellent, and there is defintely an emotional reaction that's created by Rin and her situation, but its all really really heavy. It's almost...exhausting. I enjoyed the route alot, but it was a little much for me. And compared to how I felt Rin and Hisao connected vs Hisao/Lilly...just wasn't quite the same. While love was present in both scenario's, its a different type of love.

Rin
9.2154/10
Oh god this route came completely out of the fucking left field. Took me for quite a emotional roller-coaster ride. It was good, but act 1, I believe, gave misleading foreshadowing, which is baaad. Also, it had pacing issues somewhat near the middle ish, during the slump between Rin being asked to get her own exhibit and Hisao visiting her. It's my belief though that this route has the best cinematic and route-picture-things, so there's that.

Hanako
8/10
Hanako's H-scene was mishandled in that there wasn't quite enough build-up before hand. Still, aside from that, it was a solid route, but it ended too early. I don't mean in the "I want moar" type of way, I mean in the "seriously it's ending at this point?" type of ending. The other routes at least give us a little insight into how the couple copes post-trumatic catalyst, but this one? Kiss and end bai bai. Cinematic was second best.

Lilly
8.5/10
The definite "cliches are not bad" route. The plot device of the Scottland Summons was amazingly cliche, but the story was better for it. In fact, as a whole, this route seems closest to "sterotypical love story" then any other route.

Emi
7/10
Too short fourth act. Descriptions got a bit shallow at times. Too much sex -as stupid as that sounds-. Hisao was stupider then usual, and that's saying something. Inspiring, but only just.

Shizune
7.5/10
Oh god this route just bogged on and on and on. But it was still good. It just had serious, SERIOUS pacing issues. Also, one fuggin choice. What's up with that. Misha could've done with a more rounded out (har har) personality. Also, jesus christ are they actually romancing or what? They fuck twice and that's about the extent of the "romance" in their relationship. Seriously if all it takes to get in bed with Shizune is a simple "will you be my girlfriend," how is it that Misha couldn't bang her!?

Why does the OST feature so much piano, despite the fact that not even a single piano exists in the entire game!?

Lilly
Initially I went into it expecting something just barely above mediocre, and for a while I thought I was spot on but during the scene in Hokkaido my attitude did a complete about face and from there on out her story was emotionally gripping and quite the tugger of the heart strings. Especially the good ending, even though almost all of the story had cliché out the bum. Still, not a bad thing though. All in all it was great but not perfect.

Hanako
You know, Hanako's story, to me anyway, was more of a chore just to get 100% completion. I didn't hate her arc but I didn't find it appealing to me as much as the others, only during the final scene of her good ending does it even near a point where I could care what happens between Hanako and Hisao, but by that point you already know where it's going and it will all be over in just a few minutes. In short, it wasn't bad but not exactly good either, I'd say it was okay.

Rin
More or less the same as above, there were far more scenes that I found myself really into the story, hoping everything turns out well in the end, and even got choked up a few times, specifically on her "neutral" ending. It was a good story, not easily forgettable but the memory of each scene will not be burned into my frontal lobe for all of eternity.

Emi
In my own personal rankings, this one would probably be in my second place for all time favorites. It was definitely pretty emotional at times but one thing that kind of killed it for me was the back and forth during her story regarding the accident, after a while of Hisao banging on about "being there" for her and Emi telling him to fuck off I got a little annoyed with it. But not so much it took away from the experience. Good writing, good character development and still giving you a way to patch things up after it all goes to shit? In my opinion, very good story telling.

Shizune
Now, this one is kind of tricky to judge. There's more to the story than meets the eye, you have to read in between the lines to really know everything that's going one. Even after several days of looking at Shizune's arc retrospectively and contemplating the various scenes and running over things in my head, that's still one of my biggest gripes about her story. Not everything is what it appears to be at first glance, and really Shizune's overly competitive nature and her absolute need to be in control of a situation at all times is another thing that bugged me personally, mostly because Shizune is almost my complete polar opposite so I found it hard to put myself into Hisao's shoes and really get into the story and feel any kind of connection with her. I felt closer to Misha actually, even though she's not even a romance option and the closest you get to that is a one-night stand. So long story short, good story telling but I wan't hooked because I wan't really a fan of her character. I did get something in my eye when I witnessed her bad ending however, that's not to say her good ending was mediocre either, though. And lastly, my biggest gripe, along with a lot of other peoples'; you get one damn choice near the end of act four, and all you get to do is chose whether or not to play hide the pickle with Misha, so it doesn't even directly affect Shizune, even though it's the choice that determines whether you get the good ending or the bad ending, I get that it's because of Shizune's need to be in control all the time, but it makes her story seem unnecessarily long and drawn out, even though time-wise it's right on par with the others and still vastly shorter than Rin's.

I hope you'll forgive my usage of words over out-of-ten ratings, to me a complex opinion is not something you can express numerically.

Mostly because I just finished the last of the 5 main routes I thought I'd put some things down here.

1.) Just a reflection, I'm trying to figure out if I have a biased attraction to Emi simply because she was the first girl. Then again the first run through I couldn't even figure out where the save was until 3 hours in so the choices I made were all the real choices I would make. It kind of confused me at first that I would get Emi, but the more I thought about it and went through her story, the more it made sense, that determination, that bubbliness, that energy are things I often find attractive simply because its not something I am/do. Though I am hyper competitive and have collapsed on a track after outrunning our wide receivers and running back when I was a football lineman, so I suppose it kinda makes sense.

Yes Emi's path ended up being very predictable by the middle of Act 3, and yes Act 4 ended up being more of a wrap up to the story than a full act, and yes Hisao was particularly dense in this path; however if you go the follow her into the kitchen route and then have Misha talk some sense into you, the conversation that Hisao has with Emi on the track.... well it felt exactly the way that I would have said it. So even though he was a lot of an idiot, I felt a lot of connection to Hisao, because I have said something very similar to someone that I pushed too far.

Her H-Scenes didn't feel really out of place, except maybe the anal scene and even that wasn't any more out of place than Lilly's scenes. And with her explanation of her trying to keep that emotional distance with Hisao, I've known plenty of people like that where they'll let you physically close but not close. In the end those made sense to me, as did her entire reasoning.

9/10

2.) I ran through Shizune's second and it was distinctly more difficult. Honestly though, Shizune's route felt so very realistic where as compared to Emi and all the other routes were very idealistic. It was tough to do her route because I did find her commanding nature to be off-putting. She did start to grow on me as the story progressed, and I did find her idiosyncracies endearing.... and honestly she did get me starting to think about perceptions and how hard it must be for her to read people as well (this also colored Lilly's line).

I suppose the thing that Shizune did better than any of the other lines was remind me that these are high school kids and the idealism of high school doesn't neccessarily have to be everywhere. Its impossible to not mention the ending, as it is such a point of contention, but even that isn't so bad if you think about it realistically. There's no guarantee that everyone will live happily ever after like they do in all the other routes. They accept that this might not last through university, and its almost refreshing he down to earth outlook.

In my opinion, the H-Scenes kinda came out of nowhere and felt the most jarring, and the Misha one was kinda left field but I honestly thought it was going to be a better spin on her shallow character arc. Wasn't too disappointed with the way it went, but was hoping for a little more depth. But the story was solid and though I couldn't really connect to her thinking I did find it enjoyable.

6-7/10

3.) Hanako was my third route, and the one I felt the most connected to going into. I suppose that I saw a lot of myself in Hanako and seemed like I was treating her the way I wanted to be treated. I understood her, I thought, pretty well and everything she did kinda made sense to me. Though I gotta admit the bad ending completely made me recoil, I was practically in terror when I first saw it. Regardless, the story wasn't quite surreal but it had that feel of not quite being....real.

Though of all the scenes, seeing Hanako break down was one of the most heart breaking scenes and I honestly felt like holding her and crying too.

It may have been that I was starting to feel....less overawed by the story, but after Shizune I didn't feel the same connection with any of the others that I did with Emi. It may have been that the game in fact does know me and that Emi was in fact the right route for me (in which case kudos) but of the scenes that I rewatched the most, the Emi apology was the most rewatched and the Hanako ending was a close second. The connection I felt was so engaging and even though the H-Scene was a bit of a "Wait, what?" once she explained it, it made sense and I saw myself in Hisao as I was saying "No but that...I didn't...but you....wait...no I didn't....ugh."

8.5/10

4.) Lilly was 4th, and after reading about how much everyone liked her route, I had kinda high expectations. Perhaps that was wrong, and stepping back to try and judge it, it does seem like the most straightforward story. There are plenty of contrivances and yes a lot of things felt soap operaish, but it all felt... nice. The whole thing left me feeling good.

She also seemed to be the only one without a real personality quirk, there wasn't anything about her mindset and outlook that made me try and get into her head. I could simply understand her. So maybe that means I have whatever quirks she does and I simply don't know it, but her story was easiest to follow.

Though the ending run to the airport.... I'm very mixed about. With the whole story being a basic boy meets girl, girl has to leave, boy chases girl and makes her reconsider, it felt very cliche. However, my pulse was pounding as Hisao ran through that damn airport and I wanted to yell with him "LILLY!" I was clicking through the words faster then every other scene everything picking up pace at once, and then waking up in the hospital and not having Lilly right there (as per cliche) I thought "Oh God, I failed". Running after Emi gave me a similar feeling, but that was an intense sequence.

I was overall happy with the story. 8/10

5.) Oh Rin.... what to say..... She just the hardest to put into words for obvious reasons. Maybe I need to paint something. She was really all over the place and had me all over the place. Though, I'm trying to figure out if the first cutscene is a red herring or not. I honestly know artists that see the world in deformities and demons the way they showed her when she was painting, and I figured that would be more the way she would need Hisao, to deal with those demons from her past. I suppose it was just a red herring, but in that case.... ::sigh::

I love what she represents and her spirit and a lot about her, but I know enough to know that that's not all there is to her and I don't personally think I could possibly reconcile it all. I know somebody else put it on here the metaphor of Rin being a butterfly, but it doesn't quite fit in my opinion. Regardless, story-wise, I think Hisao was perhaps the most intelligent and thoughtful than on any of the others, which I guess finally made him the most relateable because he wasn't a complete moron, however I don't think I could quite follow his line of thought.

In the end, I didn't quite feel the same way I did at the end of Lilly or Hanako's with a big catalyzing moment. But I did feel....content. Perhaps it was being the final route, but I felt ok with the way things were which was perhaps one of the lessons of Rin anyways, to be...well...present. 8/10

And I do have to say, that this has been incredibly cathartic and I feel really good about the whole experience now, even better than after the first two or three that I really connected with. And this ended up being a lot longer than I thought, but I'm glad I said it.

Emi Route- 9/10
While not being "Perfect" It was pretty close, it made me cry, laugh blush, and feel an attachment. I really enjoyed the settings, characters and the interaction between them all. IMO this is the canon route, well my "canon" route. Hisao gets healthier, and this is the only route he heeds the nurse's advice.. When I finished teh route I was left yearning for more, so I read some epilogue fan fics. That's what brought me here, and helped earn this route my top score.

Manly Picnic-5/10
While I enjoyed Hisao cutting back and getting to know the awesome Kenji! It left me feeling bad and sick, after being what I thought was murdered by Kenji. I was practically fuming through the rest of the routes, hating Kenji every second. Now that my rage has subsided I did it again and laughed a lot.

Lilly Route-8/10
My second favorite route, it was very kind and sweet all the way through. At certain points it even made me feel nervous and scared for this romance. I liked the build up to Lilly's character and the summer home visit.

Hanako Route-7/10
Pretty good, although the way Hisao treated her irritated me and made me want to punch him. All the routes ended well for the most parts, even though somethings escalated way out of control.

Shizune-7/10
Loved hanging with the student council, Misha and Shizune we're so fun. I really despised Hideaki and Jigoro though, it soured some of the plot for me.

Rin-2/10
I despised it(Here come the hate), it confused me and had me wondering what was even going on? Combined with the fact that I despise people like Rin, It was not a pleasant journey for me.

Emi : 8 (I liked it a lot at the moment, but I don't think I would have liked that much if I did her route after Lilly or Hanako)

Hanako : 11 (The Route simply told me, so it is more than perfect for me no matter of the potential flaws; the morale is the deepest and the more usefull for me; and I think she is is the most complex and deep of the fourth girls I have played; I find it hard to explain why I love her so much, it's passion.)

Lilly : 10 (The Route is long, full of many highlights, some say it's cliché but I love the almost surreal passion in the romance between Hisao and Lilly ( the GC in the fields!), the only really cliché moment is the heart-attack but it's so properly implemented ! other times I think they are acting passionate but in a realistic world, and there is a theme of conflict between passion and realism of social demands: the passion of Lilly for Hisao against try to reform a family with her parents, her loving "family" (Hisao, Hanako) against her "real" family who is not really loving but is the socially acceptable choice; I don't understand why Lilly is criticized for that, most people take their first choice and it's very brave for her to choose otherwise)

Shizune : 7 (I got bored while playing this route, after having thought about it, there are many interesting things but a Route which is not appreciably while the playing is a little off for me and the pace is still bad, sorry; the Route is maybe the more "realistic" but it's not my style, too static,ect...)

Rin : not already done. (You think I will love her route or not ?)

"With my eternal life, I will see the world through to its end. Until everyone who won't like me is gone."
— Porky Minch

"Can you face your fears ?"
— Hanako

I speak from the noise
Souls and shapes, forever twisted
the lost voices of the damned
lure the bringer of despair

Thank you.
I think it varies depending on whether she is just a artsy cloudcuckoolander or something more deep. (I don't have nothing against something a little surrealist/abstract if there is a real meaning and not just random shit, for example : I liked the movie Paprika with the parade as my favorite scene; but many things that try to mimic this kind of things are just random and not even nice looking)

"With my eternal life, I will see the world through to its end. Until everyone who won't like me is gone."
— Porky Minch

"Can you face your fears ?"
— Hanako

I speak from the noise
Souls and shapes, forever twisted
the lost voices of the damned
lure the bringer of despair

Emi: 10/10 i just had wayyy too many feels on this one for it not to be, although i kinda skipped off the anal scene the first time but watching it later i couldn't help but laugh because they way they acted after was just priceless, i also watched a youtuber play through this part and well i couldn't stop laughing, just the face she made ahem waifu *cough cough* waifu ;P

Rin: N/A haven't played Rin's path just yet.

Lily: 7/10 at first i really liked lily's path but upon further thought they did baby hanako a lot although the end with hanako travelling i did like, i also enjoyed the post credits scene.

Hanako: 8-9/10 not 100% sure its probably more 10/10 but i haven't played this one for almost 6-7 months (this was the first one I played but didn't play the others and forgot about the game till recently) so going off memory most likely 9/10 but from reading others i think i would probably rate 10/10 when i play it again.

Shizune: 9-10/10 tbh probably 10/10 i know i am giving high ratings a lot but i really love these characters, and damn the feels were strong with this one, i went down the bad path first (i save the question point and just went with Misha out of curiosity of what would happen) and well i really wish i didn't the amount of feels at the end, i think i may have even shed a tear but damn my heart was crushed. although redoing it and getting the good ending my mind was finally at peace, i never want to see that bad ending again wayyyyy too many feeeelllsssssss!!!!!!!

Hanako's route was the best done of them all. The only problem that really occurs to me is that it feels a bit short as opposed to the other routes. There's also the issue of Hanko latching onto Hisao so quickly, but I'm not sure if that is really a problem with the writing or just being thrust into something she wasn't ready for and feeling she had to move quick about it. As a character, she's very much not what she appears at first glance (to the point where people still argue about whether or not her needing help counts as white knighting or whether the sex scene was "right" or not. To me that packed the most emotional punch.

Lilly's route... the word cliche gets thrown around alot, but it never felt that way to me. It was the warmest and tolkd the most traditional love story of the group, but it never felt like it was just something I'd scene before. It also gets major credit for the best use of supporting cast. If there's any problem, it's that the source of conflict always feels somewhat detached from what's going on and the characters involved in it.

Rin's route is the bleakest of them, to the point where it has two possible bad endings. Rin's route is more of a rollercoaster, except the guy next to you is turning to punch you in the gut every few seconds. There's a lot of drama without any real sense of comedy relief or other supporting cast emembers to lighten it.

Emi's route was the safest. While it lacked the emotional power that the other routes had, it didn't have their flaws either. It was nice, quick, fun, and had one of the best humor scenes in the game.

Shizune's route was just bad. She's the least sympathetic character of the group, she's got a supporting cast that are almost too ridiculous to believe, the route contains no feel of real romance, much of the important stuff happens off screen, and it just drags on too long without anything happening and no choices to affect the outcome. On the plus side, Misha is wonderfully developed and gets more emotional scenes that the main attraction does.